Deurpost

The simple answer to this question should be because we should love Jesus, who is the fulfillment of the Torah (Matt. 5:17-18). “The law [Torah] of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;” (Psalm 19:7). Jesus, the Torah, is perfect and restores the soul, bringing us back into relationship with the Father. We should delight in the law of the LORD and set our heart on studying and meditating on it day and night (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2; Ezra 7:10). That person “will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” (Psalm 1:3)

But, man, what a challenge it is to love Jesus with all my heart, soul and mind! How I would love to study and meditate on Him day and night and to be firmly planted, in other words, be like Abraham who “did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.” (Rom. 4:20-21). I want to “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23). It is all about His faithfulness, not mine. And that is comforting to know…

Yet at the moment I feel like an Ephesian, having left my first love, and I trying to figure out ways to remember, repent and do the first things again. It is a challenge, but I want to do it, because He is more precious than anything. So I guess I should start meditating on the Torah, get close to Jesus again in my heart so my love can grow and my soul can be restored.

“For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:16-19)

This is an amazing piece of text by the apostle Peter. Can you imagine being Peter, witnessing all the miracles Jesus performed, seeing the Holy Spirit ascending on Jesus like a dove, literally hearing the voice of God come out of heaven twice (both at the baptism and at the transfiguration), seeing Jesus in all His glory at the transfiguration, seeing the empty tomb, sticking His fingers in the nail prints, seeing Jesus go back up to heaven? And what does Peter say here?! Oh well, that’s all fine and dandy, but I tell you that the prophetic word is even a better testimony than me being an eyewitness! Crazy!! The prophetic word, which prophesied all the things which Peter witnessed up close, has come true indeed, which means that all the other prophecies are thereby also validated to be sure to be fulfilled as written. And this is amazing news! And what is Peter’s instruction? To pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. In other words, we are commanded to invest time in figuring out all the prophetic words because they will bring light in a dark place, comfort and joy where there is not, and it confirms and builds our hope until our hope is fulfilled at the end.

Amazing!

Why did the disciples have a problem recognizing the resurrected Jesus? I have been reading all the different verses which tell the story after the resurrection, trying to reconstruct what happens. And I am confused by the first appearance to Mary Magdalene in the garden. According to Matthew (Mat. 28:1-10), she met Jesus outside of the tomb when she was already on her way back to the disciples, and it seems like she recognized Him immediately for she worshiped at His feet. Mark (16:1-10) doesn’t really say much about it for the reference is outside of the story at the garden. Luke doesn’t recount the meeting with Jesus, but John 20:11-18 tells that she met Jesus while still at the tomb (so before she was on her way back to the disciples as Matthew tells) and she doesn’t recognize Him immediately. My guess is that John’s account is most accurate and that Matthew’s account could actually match within this.

Some other interesting observations:

1. In Matthew 28:10, Jesus said to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” You can interpret this verse in different ways. It definitely meant seeing Jesus physically, as His physical appearance to the disciples is recorded many times. But, if it also meant seeing Jesus spiritually, then this is a prophecy and a promise!
2. In Mark 16:10-11, Mary Magdalene “went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.” It seems that just hearing about His resurrection (although Mary had seen Him) did not avail to much for the other disciples who had not seen Him yet (also many did not even believe when they also say Him).
3. In Mark 16:12-13, Jesus “appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.” I wonder what this means (Jesus appearing in another form), but this is the story of the Emmaus road where in Luke 24:16 it is said that “their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” It is clear from this verse that Jesus is sovereign over who really sees Him and not, yet Jesus also said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!” (Luke 24:25). Something similar is written in Mark 16:14, where Jesus “rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.” Believe is always a heart issue! Then later “when he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.” (Luke 24:30-31), “and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.” (Luke 24:35). Again a beautiful verse displaying the sovereignty of the LORD!
4. In John 20:20, Jesus “showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.” Thomas likewise needed to see the marks in His hands and side. Although it seems that “seeing is believing” applies here, I do believe that Jesus opened their heart first, because there are many occasions where “seeing is believing” does not apply.
5. In John 21, “Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.” (v.4), and “that disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!‘” (v.7) only recognizes Jesus after He repeats the miracle of the great catch (see Luke 5:1-11). Was this a not knowing as in that they weren’t aware someone was watching them in the first place? Or that they saw someone standing there, but did not physically recognize him (not so much because of scars etc, but because He was standing too far off or it was early in the morning so maybe foggy or still not fully day? Or that hey did not recognize Him spiritually? In any case, later on in the story we read in John 21:12 that, “none of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord.“
6. In Luke 24:12, after being told by Mary Magdalene that Jesus has risen, Peter “rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.” Although Peter had to see with his own eyes that the tomb was empty, it seems that seeing the empty tomb himself did do the trick for him.

What to say from all of this? It seems to me that it is primarily a matter of the heart that the disciples did not recognize Jesus:

• Mary Magdalene mistook Jesus for gardener not so much because of His mutilated physical appearance (although a plucked beard indeed could make someone unrecognizable – by the way, do you think this was on purpose, to enhance the spiritual aspect of seeing Him?), but because she believed that His physical body was stolen (i.e. she did not believe He would resurrect);
• Peter accepted Jesus’ resurrection just seeing the empty tomb (i.e. he did believe without seeing Jesus);
• The two disciples on the Emmaus road were spiritually blinded by Jesus (by the way, do you think this was in order to give Jesus the opportunity to tell the whole history in a nutshell?) before their eyes were opened by seeing the nail prints when Jesus broke the bread;
• Jesus on several occasions rebuked the disciples for their hard hearts;
• Although John recognizes Jesus, it did take a realization that He repeated an earlier miracle;

There is definitely a component of His physical mutilation which hindered them from recognizing Jesus, but to me this only emphasizes even more their hardheartedness. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

The first time we read about Barnabas is in Acts 4:36-37, where we read that “Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” From the start, Barnabas is displayed as an example of his giving spirit (in comparison to Ananias and Sapphira talked about next), and is thereby encouraging the other believers.

The next time we read of Barnabas is in Acts 9:27 when Barnabas “took [Saul] and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.” Again, Barnabas is encouraging the other believers by being an example of his loving spirit (in comparison to the other disciples who were afraid of Saul). Barnabas exemplifies 1 Corinthians 13:7 (“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.“)

Then we read about Barnabas in Acts 11:22-24 when the church in Jerusalem hears about the great things happening in Antioch, and they send Barnabas to check it out. “When [Barnabas] came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.“

After that, in Acts 11:25-30, Barnabas, seeing the advancement of the gospel, goes to Tarsus to get Saul and go back to Antioch to further instruct many people. And when prophets came to Antioch with news that a great famine would come, Barnabas (with Saul) is sent to the brothers in Judea to sent relief.

Then, Barnabas accompanies Paul on his first missionary journey (Acts 13-14) to Cyprus (Barnabas’ home), Perga, Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, and Derbe.

It is Barnabas (with Paul) who is appointed to go to the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:2), and brought great joy to the brothers in Phoenicia and Samaria on his way (Acts 15:3). During the council, Barnabas (again with Paul) encourages the council by telling about all the great “signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.” (Acts 15:22). Barnabas gets to take the letter back to Antioch to encourage the believers there about the great news of the outcome, and “teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also” (Acts 15:35)

The last we hear from Barnabas is when he stood up for the young John Mark when Paul did not want to take him with him on the second missionary journey.

In summary, Barnabas is a great example of how, filled with the Holy Spirit, one can be a great example in giving, loving, teaching and preaching, exhorting, and defending other believers and the faith. He is truly a son of encouragement, and I feel greatly convicted (yet encouraged) by his example. But praise the LORD for Barnabas and the opportunity to always grow in walking in the Spirit. And what Paul said of himself, Barnabas can surely say about himself too, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Felt an urge to post a little video where someone’s singing the Shma (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Something to be reminded of daily!

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

I believe the value of Leviticus is huge and highly overlooked by most Christians because on the surface it seems like a boring list of laws and regulations which do not apply to us. But I think that with that attitude you bypass a beautiful book.

Two words come to mind when I think about Leviticus: holiness and worship. In those days the holy LORD was present in the midst of the people (Ex. 40:34, Lev. 1:1). The people of Israel must therefore properly address their sin and impurity and must strive for personal holiness. In order to approach God, worshipers must be wholehearted in their devotion (1:1–6:7; 22:17–30). The same applies to us today. We are called and commanded to worship the LORD. In order to do this we need to present ourselves appropriately. By the grace of God, through Jesus, are able to come before the LORD with confidence (Heb. 4:16, 10:19-22, 10:35). Yet, this does not mean that we don’t have to worry about our holiness! We, like in the old days, are still called to strive for personal holiness, to sanctify ourselves completely (1 Thess. 5:23), and in the truth (John 17:17), through the work of the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:2), and have Jesus reign in our hearts as LORD (1 Peter 3:15).

The book of Leviticus gives us a picture of the seriousness of sanctification, the utter holiness of the LORD, the utter separation we have through sin, and the foreshadowing of Jesus in the midst of it all, as it is impossible from the human side to present ourselves clean before the LORD.

The book of Leviticus gives us these pictures as it discusses the need for offerings (ch. 1-7), the need for a priesthood (ch. 8-10), the need for explaining cleanness and uncleanness (ch. 11-15), the need for atonement (ch. 16), the need for blood to atone (ch. 17), and the need for holiness (ch. 18-22). This all builds up to Jesus in chapter 23 where the holy feasts are explained prophetically for the appointed times and the ultimate redemption (jubilee and the law of redemption). The book closes then off with a series of blessings and curses (ch. 26) and vows and dedications (ch. 27).

In other words, the whole book is a picture the need for holiness as the LORD is holy, with the purpose of worshiping the LORD in all we do and are.

Starting point
I think a good starting point in answering this question is Isaiah 43:11, which says, “I, even I, am the LORD, and there is no savior besides Me” (which means they are inextricably connected!) and the words of the angel Gabriel, who said, “do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11), and “to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 1:25)

Some tidbits

• In the NASB, the word ’savior’ appears 37 times in 37 verses (13x OT; 24xNT). In Hebrew the word for ’savior’ is ‘yasha`’ which can mean ‘to save, to deliver, to help, to preserve, to avenge, to be victorious’. In the Greek the word is ’sōtēr’ and comes from the root ’sōzō’ which means ‘to save, to make whole, to heal, to be whole’.
• In the NASB, the word ‘LORD’ appears 7873 times in 6679 verses (6063x OT; 616x NT). In Hebrew the word for ‘LORD’ is mostly ‘Yĕhovah’ which means ‘the existing One’. In the Greek the word is ‘kyrios’ and comes from the root ‘kuros’ which means ’supremacy’.
• Peter is the only New Testament writer you uses the term ‘Lord and savior’ (in 2 Pet. 1:11; 2:20; 3:2; 3:18).

Savior
To me, there is a huge difference between God being my savior or God being my Lord. He is first of all my savior in that He saved me, delivered me (redeemed me) from from so many things. From God’s wrath in the first place and from myself in the second place. He also rescued me from the domain of darkness and transferred me to the kingdom of Jesus (Col. 1:13). It goes without saying that all of this is fully by His grace and all accomplished by justification (the past tense of being saved) and will be fully completed ultimately by glorification (the future tense of being saved). For a lot of people, who see God only as their savior, this is where it ends. God saves as a once-and-for-all deal, they continue living without change, and they will be glorified at the end.

LORD
But, He is also my savior on a day-to-day basis. This is sanctification (the present tense of being saved), a process which will take a lifetime. By the power of the Holy Spirit, through the completed work of Jesus Christ, becoming more and more like Jesus, continuously being purified until God the Father sees His image in my life. This process, through faith, is what can only happen when you see God not only as savior but also as Lord. In my research for this question I came across the following verse, which I think says it all. It’s Isaiah 48:17 which says, “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.” Do I need to say more? I don’t think so. How can I not want to follow Him?! “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Mat. 11:28-30). But, although His yoke is easy, that doesn’t mean it will be easy. We must allow the dead to bury the dead (Mat. 8:22), we must deny ourselves (Mat. 16:24), we must serve Jesus (John 12:26), and we must be like sheep (John 10:27).

This to me is the difference between seeing God as savior and seeing God as Lord. And boy, what a challenge it is! Maybe that’s the reason why the word ‘Lord’ appears 213 times more in the Bible than the word ’savior’?

The Ten Commandments are listed in Exodus 20:3-17 and Deuteronomy 5:7-21, and I think, even without Jesus making them even more intense, they are a huge challenge. Everyone fails daily at the first commandment. I know I do. There are many different “gods” that I hold before me; things that I put in front of God, thinking they give me more than I need in Him. I have carved images in the form of laptops, photo cameras, televisions, guitars, books, etc. I try to keep the Sabbath, but I think I need a lot more knowledge on what that really means for it be a holy day. I don’t think it is now. I try to honor my parents, but fail regularly by putting my own interest above theirs. OK, I have never murdered, but have committed adultery in my mind (sadly!). I do not steal literal objects, but do steal for instance from the boss’ time on occasion. I don’t think I bear false witness, but there are the occasional items in my neighbor’s house that I covet. No, anyone who thinks that the Ten Commandments are easy has not read them well. It’s just another example to show us that we are sinners in need of a Savior. And He has come and His name is Jesus! Hallelujah!!!

But with regards to not taking the name of the LORD your God in vain, I think there may be some confusion. I don’t think this has to do with use of words but with ambassadorship; how well do I represent Him in my daily life. It reminds me of Colossians 3:1-17. Maybe it’s good to dig into this a little bit.

Set Your Mind On Things Above (Col. 3:1-4)
The starting point is to keep seeking the things above, which we do by setting our mind on things above. A transformation of the mind is what’s needed. In other words, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Phi. 3:10) and step away from appetite being my god because I set my mind on earthly things (Phi. 3:19). See also Colossians 2:8 and 2 Corinthians 10:4-6. Our mind needs to be fixed on heaven. To seek the things above is to be desire it, to have a passion for it. We need to develop a passion for Christ. Without it we won’t seek Him and keep setting our mind on earthly things as we are used to. I think it’s also interesting that it says that Christ is our life. This can be taken literally (John 11:25, Galatians 2:20, Romans 8:10), but also figuratively, where if something is your life then it is the main thing in your life, your passion. Think about a hobby or so. The best way to describe this is of course how Paul says it in Philippians 1:21, “for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Putting Off The Old Self (Col. 3:5-9)
Now this is quite the list! Consider yourself dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed. Wow! What do these things lead to? Idolatry (i.e. the first commandment). Also put aside anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech, and lying. As if the first list wasn’t enough conviction! Couple of things stand out to me in this long list. Impurity makes me think of getting ourselves refined like gold until all the impurities are out of our character and God sees Himself reflected in us. Things like anger, wrath, malice and slander make me think about getting back at someone or reacting to wrong being done against you. What we need to realize in those circumstances is that Christ died for their sins as well, and He will set everything right at the end. In other words, leave it up Him to deal with injustice as He will do a much better job at it than we can, considering He is both just and the justifier.

Putting On The New Self (Col. 3:10-17)
Again Paul makes it clear that it starts with “being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of [Christ]” (Col. 3:10). This is quite a list as well! A heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another, forgiving each other, and love. This list resembles the listing of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. I think verses 15-17 are the perfect summary:

• Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart;
• Be thankful;
• Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly;
• Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the LORD Jesus;
• Give thanks through Jesus to the father;

The latter two is the ambassadorship and a reflection of Commandment #3. Even if you would things in accordance with this list but you don’t do it in the name of Jesus, then it is all in vain. In summary, by renewing our mind we are putting off the old self after which we can put on the new self and make ourselves available to God to really be His ambassadors. Wow, what a challenge!!

This all also reflects what Jesus says are the two greatest commandments:

• “You shall love the lord your god with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37)
• “You shall love your neighbor like yourself” (Matthew 22:39)

I was recently reading through Ephesians 4:11-16, and noticed that when writing this down in a different way helps grasp the concept better I think. Something usually helpful with Paul’s writing considering his long sentence structures. Hope this helps.

“And He gave:

• the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers:
  • to equip the saints for the work of ministry
  • for building up the body of Christ
• until we all attain:
  • to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God
  • to mature manhood
  • to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
• so that we may no longer be children:
  • tossed to and fro by the waves and
  • carried about by every wind of doctrine,
  • by human cunning,
  • by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
• Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way
  • into him who is the head,
  • into Christ,
• from whom the whole body,
  • joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped,
  • when each part is working properly,
• makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:11-16)

What struck me in this section is that it all starts with the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers who apparently have two tasks within the body to bring to whole body to maturity in Christ (meaning no longer children), and that a major key in this is to speak the truth in love in order to build the body up in love. Another major key is that the whole section starts off by saying that it is Jesus who gives.

A couple of weeks ago I preached in church on King Jehoshaphat as part of a series on the kings of the Old Testament. When reading the story of king Jehoshaphat was what struck me his apparent tolerance in dealing with the evil king Ahab. The sin of tolerance is an ever increasing aspect in the world, and Amsterdam and the Netherlands in particular.

Here is the second part of my teaching notes:

So What Is the Point?
So, what can we learn from Jehoshaphat’s life so far? It seems that overall Jehoshaphat was a pretty good guy. At the end of the story it is even said that he was “doing what was right in the sight of the Lord.” (2 Chronicles 20:32). From his point of view, helping out Ahab was just an honest mistake, motivated by his desire for peace. He was not trying to be rebellious or do evil. But was it “just” a mistake? He was forgetting that his dependence needed to be on God. He not only willingly helped his pagan friend Ahab in war, he even arranged for his own son to marry one of the daughters of Ahab and Jezebel. And for what?! Political gain; an artificial peace which is little more than the absence of hostility. His “honest mistake” carried much more weight than he probably realized. When we continue to read what happened after the battle we come to the key verse in the story of Jehoshaphat. The Bible says it like this in 2 Chronicles 19:1-2: “Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. But Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, ‘Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord.’” It is important to note here that ‘love’ denotes not emotion but the commitment to support a treaty. Here’s the point I want to make: Jehoshaphat went too far in developing a friendship with his buddy Ahab, whose lifestyle and faith opposed everything he stood for. And in that he crossed the line of legitimate tolerance into an unacceptable endorsement or approval. Should Jehoshaphat not have been friends with Ahab? Of course not, but he took it too far. It is okay to be tolerant, but endorsing it, supporting it (like Jehoshaphat did) is quite another thing.

Now, what does this mean for us? I think that we too should heed the warning of Jehu: Where do we “help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord”? Where do we exercise rightful tolerance or intolerance? Where do we endorse or support or approve of sin in our friendships, and in our own lives? Where do we draw the line before our tolerance goes too far? I think the answer to that question is: where Jesus draws the line. We should be tolerant where Jesus is tolerant; We should be intolerant where Jesus is intolerant.

But let’s talk about tolerance a bit before looking at what Jesus has to say about it. Tolerance can be described as having “a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one’s own” or to have an “interest in and concern for ideas, opinions, practices, etc., foreign to one’s own” or to have “a liberal or broad-minded viewpoint.” It is a good word which, in one sense, implies the compromise of one’s convictions, and to yield ground on important issues. Yet, an over-tolerance (if I can say it like that) in moral issues makes us soft or devoid of a conviction, almost indifferent maybe. Think about the “gedoogbeleid” (tolerance policy) of the Dutch drug use or the euthanasia policy. Tolerance (or broadmindedness) has sort of overruled our convictions!

Jesus’ View on Tolerance
Now, Jesus was very tolerant when it came to sinners. He was actively engaged with (and loved) tax collectors, sexually-immoral people, and foreigners. His grace and mercy are evidence of His tolerance. And I love Jesus’ tolerance, because I am a sinner. We all are sinners. But Jesus still loves me. Jesus still loves us. But Jesus was also intolerant…

Jesus was intolerant about the way of salvation
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14). He plainly pointed out that there are two roads in life. One is broad – lacking in faith, convictions and morals. It is the easy, popular, careless way. It is the way of the majority, the way of the world. He said, “those who enter by it are many.” But he pointed out that this road, easy though it is, popular though it may be, heavily traveled though it is, leads to destruction. And in loving, compassionate intolerance He says, “Enter by the narrow gate… For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life“

Jesus was intolerant toward hypocrisy
He pronounced more “woes” on the Pharisees than on any other sect because they claimed outward reverence for God but inward pretend. In Matthew 23, Jesus addresses 7 woes against the scribes and Pharisees (in contrast of the 7 beatitudes or blessings in the Sermon on the Mount), and each of them Jesus starts with “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” Matthew 23 is a great chapter to read… unless you’re a Pharisee of course (and yet we all, to a certain extent, are a Pharisee. It might be a lot closer to home than we want to admit).

Jesus was intolerant toward selfishness
To the rich young man, Jesus said: “‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (Matthew 19:21-22) It wasn’t the giving of his goods that Jesus demanded, but his release from selfishness and its devastating effect on his personality and life. “Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.’” (Matthew 16:24-25) Self-centeredness is the basic cause of much of our distress in life. Most of us suffer from spiritual near-sightedness. Our interests, our loves, and our energies are too often focused upon ourselves. Jesus was intolerant of selfishness. The ‘life’ which Jesus urges us to lose is the selfishness that lives within us, the old nature of sin that is in conflict with God. So, in your life and mine, ’self’ must be crucified and Christ enthroned. He was intolerant of any other way, for He knew that selfishness and the Spirit of God cannot exist together.

Jesus was intolerant toward sin
To the adulteress Jesus said: “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:11) He forgave her because he loved her; but he condemned sin because He hates it. Some more examples: “Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning” (1 Corinthians 15:34, NASB). “Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.” (1 John 3:4-5,7-9, NLT)

Jesus is intolerant about the way to salvation, hypocrisy, selfishness and sin… but He is tolerant toward the sinner. And so should we…

What Does This Mean for Us?
As Christians we owe it to each other in love to correct on another, to rebuke each other when it is necessary, and to encourage one another in our desire to live authentic Christian lives, faithful to the Word of God. We must love the sinner, but we must hate the sin. We must recognize that we are sinners, and love ourselves, but we must hate the sin that is in us. The same is true of our neighbor. Paul says in Galatians 5:14 that “the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” We must love our neighbor always, but we must hate the sin that is in them. Hating the sin is necessary if we are to truly love them. If we do not hate our neighbor’s sin, we do not love our neighbor at all. If we do not hate our own sin, we do not love ourselves at all. It was perfectly fine for Jehoshaphat to be friends with Ahab, but he should have continued to be faithful and obedient to God and in that way not only be an example to Ahab (love the sinner), but also to point out Ahab’s disobedience to God (hate the sin), instead of going along with Ahab in his sin. Although being friends with people like Ahab is okay, we should aim in building our strongest friendships with people who will encourage us to obey God’s Word and follow His plan for our lives. In 2 Corinthians 6:14, Paul says that we should “not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” This verse is most commonly used in relation to marrying an unbeliever, but Paul means much more here than only marrying an unbeliever. It really applies to any environment where we let the world influence our thinking. When we are being “conformed to this world” and are not being “transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2) , we are joining together with unbelievers in an ungodly way. This unequal yoke, or ungodly influence, may come through a book, a movie, a television show, a magazine, or even through worldly Christian friends. We all like to believe that we can be around ungodly things as much as we want, and that we are strong enough to resist the influence. But we must take the words of Scripture seriously: “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’” (1 Corinthians 15:33). As Christians, we must bring every aspect of our lives under God’s control and authority. Otherwise, we can hinder our walk greatly and suffer consequences God never intended for us to experience.

What Did Jehoshaphat Do?
What did Jehoshaphat do in response to the rebuke of Jehu the prophet? He repented and starts reforming the whole country. “He went out again among the people… and brought them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers” (2 Chronicles 19:4). He instructed the nation’s judges to “consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the Lord“(2 Chronicles 19:6). He told other leaders: “Thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord, in faithfulness, and with your whole heart” (2 Chronicles 19:9). And then, in the defining moment of his life, Jehoshaphat demonstrates great trust in God in the face of overwhelming circumstances. When a colossal coalition of three large armies marched against Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat called all Judah to prayer and fasting and publicly confessed to God, “For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12). We too are powerless against the sin of the world, yet we have Jesus, who died to take away our sin and give us new life through the Holy Spirit to overcome power that sin has in our lives.

Jehoshaphat wins the battle because the Lord is with him, and overall it is said that “he walked in the way of Asa his father and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 20:32), but ultimately Jehoshaphat made some unfortunate choices that blemished his otherwise good legacy.

In closing, let me give you three questions to think about, in light of all of this:

1. Who or what is the Ahab in your life? Who is the person in your life which you may have let influence your choices a bit too much, and who you could serve better by being an example to instead? What is the thing in your life that pulls you away from Christ, and be unequally yoked?
2. What is your motivation for joining in with the Ahab in your life? Jehoshaphat’s motivation was political gain. He wanted peace where maybe there shouldn’t have been. What is your motivation? What do you want to gain or achieve by this?
3. Are you as tolerant as Jesus? Have you drawn the line of tolerance where Jesus draws it, or are there areas in your life in which you are being too tolerant toward hypocrisy, selfishness or sin?

A couple of weeks ago I preached in church on King Jehoshaphat as part of a series on the kings of the Old Testament. When reading the story of king Jehoshaphat was what struck me his apparent tolerance in dealing with the evil king Ahab. The sin of tolerance is an ever increasing aspect in the world, and Amsterdam and the Netherlands in particular.

Here is the first part of my teaching notes:

Who is King Jehoshaphat? Quick Facts
Okay, let me start by setting the scene for Jehoshaphat’s story. The story of Jehoshaphat can primarily be read in 2 Chronicles 17 – 21. Now, it can never hurt to repeat that there used to be a unified kingdom called Israel, but that after the reign of Solomon the kingdom was split in two. Judah is the southern kingdom, with Jerusalem as its capitol, and that Israel is the northern kingdom, with Samaria as its capitol. The story of Jehoshaphat starts 61 years after the split up of the kingdom, and in total he reigned for 25 years and his reign overlaps greatly with King Ahab’s reign of the southern kingdom. The crossing of their paths as kings will be the center piece of our time together. But first, to get a good picture of Jehoshaphat, let’s read 2 Chronicles 17:1-13.

“Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place and strengthened himself against Israel. He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim that Asa his father had captured. The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel. Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor. 6His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord. And furthermore, he took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah. In the third year of his reign he sent his officials […] to teach in the cities of Judah; and with them the Levites […] and with these Levites, the priests Elishama and Jehoram. And they taught in Judah, having the Book of the Law of the Lord with them. They went about through all the cities of Judah and taught among the people. And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat. Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute, and the Arabians also brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats. And Jehoshaphat grew steadily greater. He built in Judah fortresses and store cities, and he had large supplies in the cities of Judah. He had soldiers, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem.” (2 Chronicles 17:1-13)

So far so good, right? He walk in the ways of David; He sought God; He ways courageous; He strengthens the nation’s military capabilities (most likely because of the border conflicts with the northern kingdom which marked the previous reigns). The next couple of verses mention that the mighty men of valor sum up to a total of 1,160,000 soldiers! He also carries out a national program of education of God’s Word by sending out officials, Levites and priests to instruct the nation in the Law of Moses; The result was that the Lord was with him (v3), the Lord establishes his kingdom (v5), he had great riches and honor, and all of Judah and surrounding peoples like the Philistines and the Arabians brought him many gifts. It is said that the kingdom prospered most under the reign of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat is off to a good start. What do you think? Will he screw it up?

Despite his high standing (even with someone as hard to impress as the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 3:14)), Jehoshaphat ultimately made some unfortunate choices that blemished his otherwise good legacy. How? By cozying up to the evil king Ahab!

Jehoshaphat’s Alliance with Ahab
“Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor, and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. After some years he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab killed an abundance of sheep and oxen for him and for the people who were with him, and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, ‘Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?’ He answered him, ‘I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.’” (2 Chronicles 18:1-3)
Ahab was the evilest king Israel ever had, and was king of Israel while Jehoshaphat was king of Judah. Now why would Jehoshaphat make a marriage alliance with Ahab? What has happened that would cause a good king like Jehoshaphat to make an alliance with a king as wicked as Ahab? Jehoshaphat agreed for political reasons though he should not have done so for spiritual reasons; he was a godly king, faithful to the Lord. It was intended to seal peace between the kingdoms after 50 years of hostilities. Although I can see why Jehoshaphat would choose for peace, it was unwise of him. The wise strategy would have been to continue to rely on obeying God for the protection of his kingdom instead of compromising it. The marriage between Jehoram, Jehoshaphat’s son, and Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel had disastrous effects on the kingdom of Judah, and it’s only due to God’s faithfulness to His promise to preserve the house of David is it that Judah survives. Jehoram “walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” (2 Chronicles 21:6). The Bible reports that Jehoram “departed with no one’s regret” (2 Chronicles 21:20). But, for now, Jehoshaphat is at peace with Ahab and the northern kingdom.

Main thing is that Ahab enticed Jehoshaphat to go into battle with him. This was a smart move by Ahab. Ramoth-gilead was a city southeast of the Sea of Galilee, some 65 kilometers from Jerusalem where Jehoshaphat lived, although deep into Israel’s territory. It was captured by the Syrians during the reign of Ben-hadad, and he promised to return certain cities to Israel (1 Kings 20:34) in exchange for leniency after defeat in battle. Apparently this was a city Ben-hadad had never returned to Israel. Ahab wants it back because it was in strategically important location (it was one of the cities of refuge – Joshua 21:38). What then is told in rest of the chapter is a most amusing story which I would encourage you to read on your own, but the main jest is that Ahab’s false prophets prophesied that Jehoshaphat and Ahab will triumphantly win the battle, and a prophet of God prophesied that not only that God put a lying spirit in the mouths of the false prophets, but that they will lose the battle, and that Ahab will actually die. Do you want to guess what happens? Ahab is enticed into battle, as the spirit had promised (v. 20). So, Jehoshaphat and Ahab go out to battle, but events turn out the opposite of what Ahab intended: Jehoshaphat is delivered in battle as a consequence of his desperate prayer (v. 31), while Ahab dies from an apparently random arrow (v. 33), which is clear evidence of God’s sovereign direction of events. The irony of the situation is that Ahab is told the truth but does not recognize it as such, even though he had insisted that Micaiah the prophet tell him the truth, and so Ahab says, “Put this fellow in prison and feed him with meager rations of bread and water until I return in peace.” (2 Chronicles 18:26)

Let me start off by saying that I do not support the so-called “prosperity gospel,” which is teaching that authentic faith in Jesus Christ will result in material prosperity, that financial gain is to be expected when you trust Jesus Christ, and that you will be abundantly successful in everything that you do. The two biggest preachers supporting this theology at this moment are Joel Osteen, who is the pastor at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, and holds 40,000 people weekly and over 2 million via broadcast media, and T.D. Jakes, who is the pastor at The Potter’s House, and holds 30,000 people weekly. Let me first show you a clip from both of them.

Joel Osteen

T.D. Jakes

Now, I don’t know about you, but when I listen to these people I get excited, I feel empowered to get out there. But why is that? Because they are great motivational speakers. They have a way of talking to you to get you excited, but what you should listen to is their use of Scripture and the context they use it in, and you will come to the conclusion that it is false teaching. Now I could give you a whole explanation on why I fervently despise the prosperity gospel, but whatever I would say John Piper said it better, so let me show you a clip of what he has to say about it.

Why John Piper is Upset About the Prosperity Gospel

“The prosperity gospel is no gospel, because what it does is offer to people what they want as natural people. You don’t have to be born again to want to be wealthy and therefore you don’t have to converted, to be saved by the prosperity gospel. When you appeal to people to come to Christ on the basis of what they already want 1 Corinthians 2 makes no sense. “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him.” (2 Corinthians 2:14) Therefore if you offer to people what they do not consider foolishness in the natural man you are not preaching the gospel, and the prosperity gospel offers to people what they desperately want as fallen people. Gives it to them, and grows huge churches. So I am on a crusade to crucify the prosperity gospel. I hate the prosperity gospel, because I love the glory of God.” – John Piper

Should I say more? I don’t think so, but I’ll leave you with this piece of Scripture, which I think every preacher should take to heart. In 1 Corinthians 1:17 Paul says, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”

“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you – unless indeed you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5)

I don’t know about you, but if I read this verse I don’t get this warm and fuzzy feeling. Of course the prideful side of me say, ‘Peanuts, I’ll pass this test anytime. Bring it on!’ But that’s only to cover my fear that I might fail. Paul’s request is to take a humble serious look at ourselves. The prophet Jeremiah says that “the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). And so in order to really examine ourselves means to let others into the evaluation process. And that’s where it gets scary, because oftentimes people are a lot more direct and straightforward when asked a series of questions about a person than when they talk to that person directly, so this could lead to some surprises. Consider for instance the seven letters which Jesus wrote to the seven churches in Revelation. Each church was surprised about the result of the examination. Churches that thought they were doing great, weren’t doing that great at all. Churches that thought they weren’t doing so great, were doing better than they thought. A great lesson in humility!

Anyways, exam yourselves if Jesus is in you. Are you really born again? Do you have the witness of the Holy Spirit in your heart (Romans 8:9,16)? Do you love your brothers (1 John 3:14)? Do you practice righteousness (1 John 2:29; 3:9)? Are you living a life of godly separation (1 John 5:4)? I ran into this series of questions from John Wesley and the Puritans of over 200 years ago.

1. Am I consciously (or unconsciously) creating the impression that I am better than I really am? Am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts or words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence?
4. Can I be trusted?
5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?
6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying or self-justifying? Do I grumble or complain constantly?
7. Did the Bible live for me today? Do I give it time to speak to me every day?
8. Am I enjoying prayer?
9. When did I last speak to someone else with the object of trying to win that person for Christ?
10. Am I making contacts with other people and using them for the Master’s glory?
11. Do I pray about the money I spend?
12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
13. Do I disobey God in anything?
14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
15. Am I defeated in any part of my life? Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, distrustful?
16. How do I spend my spare time?
17. Am I proud?
18. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?
19. Is there anybody who I fear, dislike, disown, criticize? If so, what am I doing about it?
20. Is Christ real to me?

We need help to do this. We need Christ, as David recognizes in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.“ The focus of our examination should not be sin, but Christ. He is the goal. Is He yours?

Almost two years ago I did a study on the three tenses of being saved. In other words, being saved has a past, present and future component. Each with different characteristics and effects.

The Presence of Sin
The future tense of sin means that when we are resurrected we will be eternally removed from the presence of sin. The apostle Paul in particular talks about this a lot throughout his letters (Romans 8:23; Philippians 3:20-21; 2 Corinthians 5:2). In all these verses he emphasizes that we are groaning at this moment, supposedly because we see both the limitations of this body and the superiority of the body to come, “for this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:53).

I am just wondering if we are really groaning? I am sure that most Christians when asked will say that they would like to be in heaven right now (or am I wrong to assume this), but to groan? To groan is a low, mournful sound uttered in pain or grief. Are you suffering right now to the extent that you are groaning? I know I am not. And maybe you not either. Why? Well, first of all, groaning is superseded by suffering. So the question should actually be if you are suffering for Christ? For “if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:17). Sure, there is this sense that “if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26), but is that really true for you? If someone knows suffering (next Jesus) it’s Paul. He says in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28, “Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.” And still Paul says in his letter to the Philippians, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.” (Philippians 1:21-26). Wow, to be with Christ is much better (groaning), but he remains nonetheless and is content with it. Why? Because to live is Christ, which is to say, “for you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:10).

My simple question is this: do you groan, like Paul? Are you content with your life as it is, or do you really long for your spiritual body? Do you realize you have been bought with a price and that you should glorify God in your body? John Piper wrote an excellent book on this topic, called “Don’t Waste Your Life“. I recommend you read it.

Almost two years ago I did a study on the three tenses of being saved. In other words, being saved has a past, present and future component. Each with different characteristics and effects.

The Power of Sin
In chapter six of Romans, Paul is describing that believers are dead to sin, meaning that sin no longer has power over us, or that we have the power in us to not have to give into sin. This is a powerful statement that needs further examination, as it deals with the subject of sanctification, the process where God is progressively separating a believer from sin to Himself and transforming him towards holiness and purity. It’s a lifelong process which entails three attitudes of mind and action on our part.

Consider Yourself Dead to Sin
“For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:5-11)
The first attitude deals with considering yourself dead to sin, yet alive in Jesus Christ. Being able to consider something true however depends on knowing and believing certain things. The things to know are listed in verse 5-10. There is certainty in knowing that when you died with Jesus you shall also resurrect with Jesus. This means that our body of sin is gone and are no longer slaves to sin. The old nature still exists, helpless, ungodly, rebellious, and an enemy of God, but now it’s no longer in charge anymore. We are no longer slaves to sin (singular! – it’s the sin nature). That means you are freed to be able to say no, but you still have to claim it by faith. To consider yourself dead to sin is an aggresive faith. It’s a present tense, daily keep on doing it type of faith. So, do you believe you are dead to sin and alive to God?

Do Not Yield to Sin
“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:12-14)
So, do not let sin continue to reign in your body. Stop letting it right now, by insisting that what God says is true. The dominion is now your choice. Before Christ this wasn’t possible, but now it is. But it remains to be a moment-by-moment choice. The Christian life is not trying to become what you are not. The Christian life is experiencing what you are – in Christ. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is not a fantasy, but a declaration of God! Your daily choices will now determine the results; not you previous slavery. The power of the old nature is now broken. Now that is good news! I am now under the principle of grace.

Serve Righteousness
“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:15-23)
Serving by desire, power by grace should be our response to what Jesus has done inside of us. “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13). Consider who your master is and what you are a slave of, because you cannot serve two masters. But thanks be to God, for He did it! So, be obedient from the heart, meaning believe in the gospel. “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him” (Colossians 2:6). Three times in this chapter Paul wrote that sin results in death. This death is eternal separation from God in hell, in which unbelievers suffer conscious torment forever. This is the wages they have earned and deserve because of their sin. By contrast, the gift of God is eternal life. Eternal life is a gift that cannot be earned.

Timothy probably became a Christian, together with his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois, on Paul’s first missionary trip to Lystra (Acts 14:6-18). On Paul’s second missionary journey to Lystra, some three years later, he met Timothy, as we read, “Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra and a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium” (Acts 16:1-2). There seemed to be a chemistry between the two. Paul saw something in Timothy that Timothy himself did not see, yet Timothy was quite convinced he made the right decision, judging by what he agreed to. “Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.” (Acts 16:3). Paul became Timothy’s spiritual mentor, probably in an effort not to make the same mistake as with John Mark. Timothy did not hesitate to join Paul and Silas on their journey. His willingness to be circumcised as an adult is clearly a mark of his commitment. Timothy went along on Paul’s journey through Macedonia (Acts 16:6-8) or stayed behind, or worked with others, in Berea (Acts 17:13-14), Corinth (Acts 18:5), Ephesus (Acts 19:22), and Greece (Acts 20:2-5). Paul counted Timothy to be his fellow worker (Romans 16:21), his brother (2 Corinthians 1:1), his beloved son (2 Timothy 1:2), his beloved and faithful child in the Lord (1 Corinthians 4:17) and his true child in the faith (1 Timothy 1:2). Paul said about Timothy: “For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. But you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father.” (Philippians 2:20-22), and “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:5-7)

The aging Paul was near the end of his life when he wrote his most personal letters to Timothy. It is evident from the writing style that Paul is writing to one of his closest friends. They had traveled together, suffered together, cried together, and laughed together. They shared the intense joy of seing people respond to the Gospel, and the agonies of seeing the Gospel rejected and distorted. Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to oversee the young church there (1 Timothy 1:3-4).

With Paul as his spiritual mentor, Timothy realized that his youthfulness didn’t have to be an excuse for ineffectiveness, that his effectiveness for God depends on divine power, not human temperament, that you can be timid and fruitful, and that character is more important than talent. The relationship between Paul and Timothy shows us that a missionary needs to be strong in the faith, and ready to face opposition. It shows us that in order to disciple someone you need to be a discipline yourself. Likewise, you need to be a leader in order to raise up a leader, and lastly you need spiritual discernment to identify people ready for missions. I think everybody needs a Paul, a Timothy and a Barnabas in his life. Someone who is mentoring you. Someone you are mentoring. And someone you do missions alongside of. Thet are vital to your spiritual health and your mission. Who are yours?

Almost two years ago I did a study on the three tenses of being saved. In other words, being saved has a past, present and future component. Each with different characteristics and effects.

The Penalty of Sin
The past tense of being saved means that you have been saved from the penalty of sin. Jesus Christ died in your place for your sins on the cross. This is a one-time once and for all event. That’s why Jesus said: “It is finished!” (John 19:30) at the moment of death. Jesus took upon Himself the penalty of sin in order for whoever believes in Him to be free from this penalty. It does not mean that sin no longer exists, but it means that the acts of sinning no longer results in death.

Now I could go into a very lengthy discussion on topics like propitiation, substitutionary atonement, limited atonement, unlimited atonement, and predestination, but I won’t because I have not fully dug into these fine subjects yet. I will probably spend some future posts on this, as I do believe it is very important to fully understand the depths of what Christ accomplished on the cross, what it’s effects are for me personally, but also for my ministry. But for now I will leave you with some verses, and the fact that Jesus Christ died for you on that cross, and if you believe in Him He saved you from the penalty of sin, which means that you are right (justified) with God again, and therefore can approach the throne of God with confidence.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift from God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

“But if it is by grace, it’s no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace” (Rom 11:6)

“But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:4-5)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet 1:3-5)

I ran into something interesting that I thought I’d share it here and dig into it a little bit more. I was looking for the exact wording of the famous faith, hope and love verse stated by Paul, “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13), so I ran a query on Bible Gateway and noticed it hit three verses which complement each other and give more depth and meaning to the famous verse. In a fact, what they produce. Now I know Paul has a habit of explaining his thoughts across his epistles, but never noticed it for this one. The two complementary verses can be found in the first letter to the Thessalonians: “Constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father” (1 Thessalonians 1:3), and “But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.” (1 Thessalonians 5:8)

The Work and Breastplate of Faith
The work of faith is the work of God in you. Upon asked the question what to do so that you may know the work of God, Jesus answered: “‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.’” (John 6:29). So it means believing in Jesus who was sent by God the Father so that He can be an example for you on how to be a missionary, and subsequently send you into mission. James says that you should to it “see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected” (James 2:22), where I would translate works here as your works as a missionary. This fits I think with the fact Paul also talks about the breastplate of faith, which is a reference to the whole armor of God, where he is instructing to stand firm and put on the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate provides essential protection for the most vital organs. Without it you are basically defenseless. The breastplate represents a righteousness received by faith in Jesus Christ. Having put on the breastplate gives us an awareness of your standing and position. So the work and breastplate of faith complement each other. With it you are ready to do the work, your mission.

The Labor and Breastplate of Love
The labor of love is “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6). The Greek work for labor is “kopos,” which means intense labor with trouble and toil. This in comparison to the word “work” from the work of faith, which is “ergon” and means to do business, a service which one perform or ought to perform. So there is a different connotation to it. To labor means to get your hands dirty, out of love. It’s again linked to the breastplate, because like a soldier who should not get out onto the battlefield without his breastplate, likewise a Christian should not be out doing his mission work without faith and love. To love is hard work. It is keeping and growing “the love which you have for all the saints” (Colossians 1:4), for “if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12). It is keeping and growing the love to tend His lambs (John 21:15), to shepherd His sheep (John 21:16), and to tend His sheep (John 21:17). It is keeping and growing the love to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). The labor of love is hard work, and it needs a breastplate to make it work. It needs a heart that is protected, so that we “do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15). We need a breastplate to keep the love of God in us, so that we do not love the world, but the people of the world.

The Steadfastness and Helmet of Hope
In all of this we should be steadfast in our hope. “But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it” (Romans 8:25). “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). Steadfastness in hope comes through perseverance. When Jesus is talking about the parable of the sower, he says about “the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance” (Luke 8:15). I like the combination of the honest and good heart and to hold fast to it. I get this picture of the breastplate again. Everything that Paul says is so intertwined. In Romans 5:3-4 Paul talks about tribulation (persecution, a result of faith and works) bring about perseverance, which brings hope. So with some reverse engineering we could say that the more we do mission, the more we are persecuted, the more we should persevere, the more we will hope. And perseverance is given by God (Romans 15:5), so nothing is done by our own merits, so if we should boast we should boast in Jesus Christ who gives it all to us to do His work for Him. Now, why the helmet? The helmet protects the head. The helmet of salvation protects us against discouragement, against the desire to give up, giving us hope not only in knowing that we are saved, but that we will be saved. It is the assurance that God will triumph. Discouragement is one of Satan’s weapons, and it’s a messing with your mind. With the helmet your mind is protected from discouragement which leads to perseverance, which leads to hope.

Conclusion
Faith, hope and love are not static words. They are active and alive. Faith without works is dead (James 2:17). Hope without works is dead (Luke 8:15). Love without works is dead (Hebrews 6:10). Let me close of with the words from Paul, “For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?” (Galatians 5:5-7). Keep close to the truth. What is truth? The Word of God (John 17:17). And we need to be sanctified in it. Sanctification is the result of work in faith.

“In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. Jesus was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Jesus, and apart from Jesus nothing came into being that has come into being. And Jesus became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw Jesus’ glory, glory as of the only begotten from God the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-3,14)

“For God rescued the believers from the domain of darkness, and transferred the believers to the kingdom of Jesus, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Jesus all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Jesus and for Jesus. Jesus is before all things, and in Jesus all things hold together. Jesus is also head of the body, the church; and Jesus is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that Jesus Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Jesus, and through Jesus to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of Jesus’ cross” (Colossians 1:13-20)

“For God so loved the world, that God gave Jesus, that whoever believes in Jesus shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send Jesus into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Jesus. He who believes in Jesus is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in Jesus.” (John 3:16-18)

Recently I was contemplating on the effects of not seeing your close friends for a while. I thought about this when our weekly home group didn’t meet for a couple of times, but it’s been brought to my attention as well as good friends of mine recently left for the United Kingdom, and also I started trying to re-ignite my friendship with some guys I used to go to a lot of music concerts with, and concluded this is easier said than done.

I realized that connecting on a heart level with other Christians is not optional. It is a must! It is of practical importance to our spiritual health and growth. For it says in 1 Corinthians 12:21 “And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you; or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you“. We all need each other, we need to connect on a heart level with one another on a frequent basis in order to not only maintain our friendship or fellowship, but also to encourage one another.

“Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22). What are youthful lusts? They are sexual temptation, illicit pleasures of the flesh, longing for fame and glory, etc. We need to flee from them. This means don’t entertain thoughts about them, don’t challenge them, don’t try them. The thing is we always pursue something. And so if we flee from (stop pursuing) these things this automatically means that we are running towards (or pursuing) something else. This goes hand in hand.

So what should we pursue? We should pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. Let’s zoom in a bit on righteousness. “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17). So if we pursue righteousness we will find peace, quietness and confidence. “For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones. Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul” (Proverbs 2:6-10). We should pursue wisdom (ask God) and walk in integrity, then we will be able to discern righteousness and have knowledge that’s pleasant to the soul.

Now we should pursue righteousness with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. We must be around Christians who will seriously encourage us. “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called Today; lest anyone of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13). To encourage one another daily takes responsibility. “Let us hold fast  the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, and not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:23-25).

How do we pursue righteousness? How seriously do we take up this responsibility? What actions does the Apostle Paul encourage us to take? What will play a critical role in reaching our spiritual goals? What do we need to be mindful of as we encourage and sharpen one another in our faith? How do these verses change our perspective on the purpose and importance of friendships?

We have been given the command to connect. Connect on a level so deep that we can really encourage and stimulate one another to love and good deeds. I feel challenged to seriously examine my friendships and starting seeing them in light of these verses.

What day seems more fitting to list some things God has to say about fools. My personal favorite has got to be Proverbs 26:11.

“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God,’ they are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice; There is no one who does good.” (Psalm 53:1)

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7)

“The wise will inherit honor, but fools display dishonor.” (Proverbs 3:35)

“O naive ones, understand prudence; and, o fools, understand wisdom.” (Proverbs 8:5)

“The wise of heart will receive commands, but a babbling fool will be ruined.” (Proverbs 10:8)

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.” (Proverbs 12:15)

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” (Proverbs 13:20)

“A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own mind.” (Proverbs 18:2)

“Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.” (Proverbs 23:9)

“Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.” (Proverbs 26:11)

“It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man than for one to listen to the song of fools.” (Ecclesiastes 7:5)

“For a fool speaks nonsense, and his heart inclines toward wickedness: to practice ungodliness and to speak error against the LORD, to keep the hungry person unsatisfied and to withhold drink from the thirsty.” (Isaiah 32:6)

“Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.” (Matthew 7:26)

“For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:21-22)

“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

What about our position as Christians in the world? Where do we stand? Where should we stand? To answer these type of questions I will look at what the Bible has to say about this, because who better than God knows our position in the world.

John 17 recorded the longest prayer by Jesus in the Bible. In verses 13-21 He prays on our behalf when He says: “But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

Jesus santifies us in the truth. What does that mean? Sanctification means to make holy or to make productive of or conducive to spiritual blessing. He sent us out into the world. He wanted us to be here. He made us holy and free from sin to be an example when He left.

But what does the world think of this? The world in this context can be described as the body of unbelievers. On several occassions (John 7:7, John 15:18-19, 1 John 3:13, 1 John 2:15-16, 2 Timothy 3:12-13, James 4:4) Jesus, James and Paul speak about the fact that the world will hate us, that the world will persecute us because we testify of Jesus, and that we should not love the world nor the things in it (just to be sure, it does not say not to love people, but not to indulge in the deeds of the world: the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life), because friendship with the world is hostility towards God, and makes himself an enemy of God.

So, does the world hate us? To answer this question we have to honestly look at the current state of our relationship with the world. What does that tell us about us following Christ? Are we being persecuted? If so, to what extent? There are definitely parts of the world where Christians are being persecuted for their faith, but in general we can say that the western world is not being persecuted. Yet we should.

If the world hates us, yet Jesus wanted us to stay in this world, what does Jesus “provide” us to stand against the persecution? The answer is a transformed state, a new heart, a new vision, and the Holy Spirit. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2), “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-3), “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.” (Philippians 2:14-16), “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.” (Matthew 5:14-15)

Our refusal to conform to the world should do deeper than the level of behavior and customs. It must be firmly planted in our minds. Only when the Holy Spirit renews, reeducates, and redirects our minds are we truly transformed. Daily we must consciously choose to center our lives on God. Use the Bible to discover God’s guidelines, and then follow them. A transformed life is an effective witness to the power of God’s Word. If we live for Christ, we will glow like lights, showing others what Christ is like. We hide our lights by being quiet when we should speak, going along with the crowd, denying the light, letting sin dim our light, not explaining our light to others, and ignoring the needs of others.

The question we should ask ourselves here is how can our transformed state become apparent to everyone? Do we allow ourselves to be renewed, reeducated and redirected by the Holy Spirit? In what ways do, or should, people notice we are different?

One way is that we are able to speak God’s wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:12-16, 1 Corinthians 5:9-13, Proverbs 12:26), “for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) so that we “see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority” (Colossians 2:8-10)

The Apostle Paul assures us that God’s mighty weapons (prayer, faith, hope, love, God’s Word, the Holy Spirit) are powerful and effective. ow do we speak the wisdom of God (or boast about God) to the natural man? Who are our neighbors? Would your neighbor say that you are a guide for him/her? How do we “destroy speculations” while still showing gentleness and love? (Speak the truth in love?) Our “job” is not to judge non-believers, but to speak and live the truth. How, then, do we share truth to non-believers who are believing lies about God?